Thursday, August 02, 2007

I am way behind. My goal for this week was to get this written on the same day that it happened. So, how did that work out? As you can see I am behind in getting this written.

What a day for golfing. The weather was warm again or I should say hot. We did start out the day at 7:30 this morning. I am now in my brown shorts and showing my white legs. Boy, do I need some sun on those legs.

Starting out today on the front side of the golf course, as usual here at Columbia Pointe. The front side was real good to me. Hole number one was a 5 on a par 4. In fact I scored a 5 on the first 3 par 4 holes. I always like starting out this well and am always hoping the rest of the day will go this way as well. Here comes the nice par 3 and I played a 7 iron into this hole today and scored a par. Here comes the two par 5's that usually will take a lot out of my day and make me humble again. The first one I drove the ball well and ended up inside of 150 yards after 3 shots. I had a chance to do well which I did and scored a 6 on the par 5. The 6th hole was a 7 and I made it out of the two par 5's still intact and feeling good. Number 7 I drove the ball well again and my second shot was on the edge of the green and I putted right up to the hole for a par on this one as well. Hole 8 I hit to the right side and chipped up near the hole and made my par3 and now I was headed to hole number 9 another par 5. I ended up hitting my 3rd shot into the water and then scored an 8 and my front side score was 46. That was nice knowing that the back side is the side I can usually do well on.

I started the back side thinking I could score very well today. Then you get humbled. The 10th hole was a 7 on the par 4. Then a 6 on the 11th which is another par 4 hole. I hit the green on the par 3 12th and then 3 putted for a 4. When I look at the scorecard of the back side I just don't see anything that makes a person too proud of my play. I ended up scoring a 50 on the back side and scored a 96 for the round. Now I should be proud of that score and I am.

Being able to be out in the nice weather. I always look forward to my Sunday golf game with friends.

Since I am writing this on Thursday I didn't play my poker game at Islands this week. I took the week off and will play again this next week. I see that Jokers Casino is coming back and I will have to see what games are available there. I hear they want to do more cash games instead of tournaments. I understand they can make more money but I would rather play the tournaments and keep learning that game.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

After last week placing 4th I wanted to have a good showing tonight and play well. There must have been about 40 people in the tournament tonight. It is nice that Island's Casino has 3 tables now and can get 30 people playing all at once. It does help to get the alternates in the game faster.

I sat down in the number 6 seat tonight. To my left was a dealer and then after him were two more dealers playing tonight. I figured I would have to play tight conservative and really pick my spots. Also I needed to make sure I had the best cards when I played.

First hand I get KQ and we must of had about 6 players in the pot. Post flop comes and it is 91010. At that time I get out. The dealer player raises the pot. He is called. The turn comes J and now I am looking at a straight possibility if I would have stayed in the pot. It would have been a draw for me. The river comes 8. There is my straight. The players that were still in the pot turned over their cards and the dealer player next to me had 1010 for Quads. Wow, did I make a good laydown.

Now for the rest of the time I was at the table every time I would limp into the pot the dealer player would raise the pot. He did it almost every hand he played. In fact at one point he said if he was coming in he would not check. He would be raising. That set the tone for all the hands I tried to play. I would limp in and he would raise and if he didn't one of the other dealers would raise the pot.

My last hand I had KQ again and so when it came to me limped in again and when the flop came there was an A on the board. I went all in and was called by two of the dealer players and the guy in the #5 seat to my right. The guy to my right had KQ as well and the two dealer players had A2 and A4 and so with no cards that could save me I was out of the tournament.

Now that lasted all of about 40 minutes tonight.

What did I learn tonight? If I am going to be in the pot then raise first. Don't be out of position and try to play cards.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

I was excited to head to Island Casino this evening and play the poker tournament. I haven't played in 2 weeks and I wanted to get going again. Since I only play one night per week it is important to me to get to the casino and try to keep my skills up on what I am trying to achieve. You know you have to have goals and mine are to at least play well and make the right decisions at the right time. I keep reading and hoping the information will someday pay off for me. I know that most books are telling you how to play but I have to remember that the individuals I am playing against are not playing by the same set of rules that I am reading about in the books.

Island Casino now has 3 tables. That is fantastic since now we can play 30 individuals and not have to wait for all the alternates to get into the game. We did end up with 32 players tonight. That, of course, meant we had 2 alternates. What a time saver. The dealers were very happy about it as well. It just made a world of difference in playing tonight.

Being off for 2 weeks and not playing any poker in that time, except for a home game, which I don't count since the style of play is just like a home game. All the trash talking and people moving chips with nothing and making calls with whatever hands. Oh, how I digress. I was hoping I was not rusty tonight and that I could play properly. The table was interesting in itself. We had two or three individuals that were playing aggressive and really pushing people off hands and when showing the hands they were bluffing. At least you hope they were. I started to play conservative to wait these people out. I did play some good hands.

Early on I had Pocket Aces and I raised the BB. I was called and we saw the flop. There were no face cards in the flop. I again raised more than three times the BB and was hoping to take the pot down before the Aces could be cracked. So many times I have seen the best hand preflop just become nothing by the end of the hand and you have put a lot of chips into the hand. I did end up taking quite a few chips with this hand. Another thing I found out during this hand was my heart rate really jumped up and my hands started shaking. I was hoping no one would notice. Usually I can hide this and play through it. Maybe this took place because I hadn't played in 2 weeks. I will need to be more aware of this and try to control this better. Maybe Biofeedback would help.

I did play pocket J's and did win over AK. Most of the other hands I played and won with were hands that I started raising with and playing position. I was very aware tonight on position and raising if I was in position. I was building my chip count. We did get down to two tables and then we started loosing individuals and got down to 6 on our table and 7 on the second table. When we made it to 5 on our table they had 6 and it seems like it took forever to get to the final table and 10 players total. I was not having any luck playing short handed with 5 at our table. I need to read about short handed play and how to deal with that type of game.

I did make the final table tonight. Ten players and anything can happen. I was not the short stack at the table. I was in 7th place with chips. When we started with 10 players again my plan was to be conservative and try to build my chip count. Slowly we started dropping players. We got down to 5 players and I was still there. I was not the short stack and had enough to work with.

We finally took out the 5th place player and now there are 4. I needed to get some chips since I was now in a tie with another person for the short stack. The hand that I chose to work with was the K8. Now shorthanded this might work. The K was workable but I didn't like the 8 being my kicker. The other individual went all in. I thought about it and decided to call him which left me with 2 chips. I at least had him covered. We turned over the cards and he was playing KQ against my K8. The only way I was going to win this pot was with an 8. On the flop it came xKx. The turn was an x and the river was an x. The Q played and I lost all but two of my chips.

Now, comes the thought of a chip and a chair. I waited till I had to play, and of course the best hand, and I went all in with my 2 chips. I won and now have 4 chips. I would have to keep this up quite a while to just get back into this tournament. The next hand I was put all in and I had two over cards. I was beat with a pair of 6's. My tournament ended on the bubble and since they only pay 3 places I was out in 4th place.

Wow, what a night. I had my chance and it didn't happen. I think back on the tournament tonight and all the plays I made, the raises, the calls I made and the only one I probably shouldn't have made was the call for most of my chips shorthanded with the K8. If I would have had a better kicker it might have worked out. Or not. The hardest thing for me tonight was walking away from the table in 4th place and not being in the money. The only thing about my play tonight was the shorthanded play. That needs work. What hands do I open up with? Do I play a wider range of hands? How does position play when shorthanded? Things I will look into and ask questions and read some more. I will be talking with a person about my play tonight. It is nice to have a "mentor" that will let me know what I did and if it was the right move and how I should have played the hand. I have to listen and learn.

I have to remember 4th out of 32 players. I know I did well. I have to learn from this one and come back next week and prove to myself I belong at the final table.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Since I did not play golf this last weekend I did not write a blog. I did nothing, absolutely nothing. Ok, I did go to a birthday party.

I look forward to the Wednesday evening poker at Island's. This evening I chose my seat and it was seat 8. It is hard for me to see the cards on the ends of the table. This week I noticed they have new cards and they are smaller numbers and suits. For me they are harder to see. Enough of the complaint. Or is that an excuse?

At the table we have some people that will push and make you make decisions on your cards. One player started pushing and raising and I had AQ. A Q came on the flop and he raised again. Since the Q was the highest card I had top pair. I followed and called him. The turn and the river were lower cards yet and so I felt my Q's were good. What I couldn't see was that there were 3 clubs on the table. I thought the Q was a spade. He ended up with flush and there went a lot of my chips.

Ok, now we have to play conservative and try to get some chips back. From 500 in chips I won an all in and got to 1500. Now with about 16 players left I was looking for another all in move to get more chips. We got down to 14 players and I came up with pocket 4's. Not a great hand but then again I need some chips. I go all in and I get one caller. He had pocket 7's. He ended up winning the pot and I was out of the tournament at 14th place.

The only thing I would have changed tonight was that one hand and if I would have noticed the flush on the table I don't think I would have called so much. That one hand bothers me tonight and I usually don't give away so many chips in one hand. I think what bothers me the most is not seeing the club on the card. I will let it go but at least give me a few hours to stew over the hand and then I'll be alright.

Golf this Saturday in the Hospital employee tournament. Looking forward to it.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

After last week playing in the tournament and coming in 13th and then playing in the live game and just not doing well at all I wanted to have a good showing tonight. I have been doing some reading on tournament strategy and I wanted to try some of it on the preflop and see how it will work.

I draw my seat and I am sitting in seat six. I don't usually sit in the middle of the table. I usually get the ends or by the dealer. This was an unusual place for me. I could really watch the table and see all the players well. In my mind I went over the strategy I wanted to play tonight. Fold and when I get to the position I need then start playing. Well, that didn't last very long. I think when you read these books by the pros they are giving you strategy to play with the pros. It doesn't work that way with amateurs. When you have players that play hands that do not make sense then it is hard for you to make a play on them and have it hold up. I know you want them to make a hard decision but then you end up making it hard on yourself trying to make a decision to make them make a decision.

I played a few hands tonight that I did win with. I was actually building my chips throughout the tournament. One hand that did hurt me was the hand where I got AK and I ended up with two callers and one of them was all in. When the cards were turned over one of the players had AQ and the all in had A10. The river gave the all in a 10 high straight. He ended up tripling up and my stack was hurt.

I did start to build my chip count again. I played the right cards at the right time tonight and I actually felt good about my chances at the final table if I could get there. I did make the final table tonight and like I said before anything can happen when you get there.

Well, it did happen. There was someone always moving in on the blinds and raising and making the blinds make decisions whether to play or give up the chips. I was in the BB and I had A10 and again one of the guys was going after my blind. I took a stand and called him. The flop came K6K. The player looked at me and asked me if I could beat what he was showing me. He showed me a 6 which made 2 pair for him. I only had 4 chips left and I didn't get any of the flop. What should I do? Go all-in and play my two over cards? Well, I did the worse thing and folded the hand. I couldn't believe I made that decision. The very next hand I was the SB and there went more of my chips in the pot. I had 86 suited and so I went all-in and when the flop, turn, and river finished I almost had the straight. I was out of the tournament in 9th place out of 24 players.

I have to learn from this and next time I am confronted with this decision I will need to play it differently. Two over cards with alot of outs. I let his aggression get me. Maybe it was the fact he didn't want me to call and he showed me to put pressure on me. Maybe he had the K for the full house. That A10 was a better hand and whether it would have won or not shouldn't have made a difference in how I played the hand.

I have to come away from this knowing that 9th place is not a bad showing. Two weeks in a row now I have come close or now have made the final table. I need to be aggressive when I get there. I have to have the chips to exert some pressure on the other shorter stacks and get the stack to grow. I have done it in the past and I know I can do it again. One thing I did do was played my game and I ended up not following the book. Why am I reading a book?

As in anything you do if you want it bad enough you will go get it. Lessons? Mentor? You have to find what it is and go get the instruction you need. I would do better by playing more often. Seeing more hands. Then you have the time factor. Oh well, it is just a game.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

How about playing some poker. Tonight was an adventure that I probably won't do again for a long time. No amount of reading ever prepares you enough for what you will see and experience. Tonight I started out my adventure at the tournament table.

As always it is hard for me to remember hands that I have played unless something really sticks out about the hand. I played very conservative tonight and the table was doing about the same. I was trying to play position and of course playing the best hands I could. If I didn't get anything on the flop then I was out of there. I didn't go fishing for cards and throw my chips out when I had raisers in front of me. I wanted to do well. At some point you have to start playing and building the chip count. That is the area that needs to be worked on.

Tonight I came in 13th out of 27 players. As always I do well in the middle of the pack and I know if I can get to the final table anything can happen. Tonight I was 3 players away from making that table. Actually when I look back at my play tonight I don't think I would have changed anything. I didn't get the cards on the flop that I needed. Any Ace or Face card I got was with a weak kicker anyway. I never got two pairs even if I threw my good ones away. Oh well, I will keep playing and try to improve on my play.

Now for the adventure. I stayed around and played in a cash game $4-$8. That was interesting in itself. I have been doing some reading on this type of play and I wanted to try it. Before it started tonight I went over to one of the dealers and asked them about playing the table. He explained the betting portion of it and so I bought my chips and sat down. I put myself in seat 10 so I would be near the dealer just in case he needed to help me with the betting action.

This is such a different type of game. I saw people call and raise just to see cards. It didn't matter what you had. You wanted to see the flop and see if you could help yourself by the cards that would come up. Now I must say I did win some pots. But I must also say that I was the biggest fish there. I just tried to not look like I didn't know what I was doing. I wanted to at least give a good showing. Which I think I did. Now, of course, I did go out and left all of my chips on the table in someone elses area. I probably will not do this again. After I left the Casino tonight I was more determined to get better at tournament play. I enjoy that type of poker more than the cash game.

I am having some back problems right now and I don't know how that is going to affect my golf game. I haven't taken any clubs out to swing them and see if I will be favoring my left side. That won't help the golf swing any. We have a tournament coming up the last of June and I definitely want to be able to play.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

I keep forgetting to write my blog on my poker adventure. An adventure it is right now. Maybe I am doing too much reading and trying to do too much. I like the saying " Amateurs work at it till they get it right and professionals work at it till they can't get it wrong". I need to just keep working at it and getting it right.

Poker night started out alright and I played conservative. Not too many hands came my way. This time I really did get blinded down to one 500 chip. That is when you go all in and not surprise anyone and you get taken out. Ok, 18th out of 25. At least I was not the first one out.

I am not ready to go home so I immediately go over to the blackjack table and sit down. I played for a while on the chips I had and then finally ran out of that too. Ok, this night is not a good night for me. I then go over to the poker room and watch the final 5 players play out the tournament.

After that was over with I went over and watched the live cash game. I talked with one of the people that plays live games and we discussed the differences in the games and how to play it. I watched one person start out with $80 and work it up to over $300. It is an interesting way to play and if you catch the cards you can do well. Maybe even earn your money back. I had purchased a couple of books on live cash games and started reading the book. I must have 5 books going now at the same time. 3 on Tournament play and 2 on cash game play. I hope I can learn something. Or at least be more confused.

Tomorrow night is another poker night. I am looking at playing in the tournament and then seeing if I can play some of the cash game. At least give it a try.

This last Sunday I did not play golf. I was on call and I just wasn't going to chance it being on the golf course since I was at the job for 7 hours on Saturday for a system upgrade. Thank goodness I wasn't out there since I did get about 5 calls from 0751 to 1100. That would have been my time out on the course.

Thursday, May 31, 2007

I knew I was ready to play some poker. I have been reading a new book by Ken Warren on playing no limit hold'em and I was ready to go. Should I say that again, I was ready to go. I drew my seat and ended up between 2 sharks. This table tonight was full of very good players. I was in trouble. These guys are getting ready to head to the WSOP. Again, I was in trouble. Ok, enough of the feeling like I was a guppie in a shark tank.

Play your game and be smart. Play conservative and get some chips from these guys. At this table as well there were two individuals that were new to the game. They have played online and so I figured the sharks will go after them. Which they did right off the bat. They were showing these two what they were going to do and they were playing super aggressive with them. When they would limp or raise the pot someone would reraise them. I tried to stay away from getting involved.

My first good hand was pocket K's. Raise it up and get it down to one person. I get 3 total that call. The flop comes out 1089. My K's have to be good. I threw a raise in and I get called and raised by 2 individuals. After that I knew my hand was no good. I ended up throwing the hand away and thank goodness I did. The winning player had a straight. I could have lost more than I did. Again this puts me down to about 1300 in chips.

A couple of hands later I get AQ. Here I go again and raise the pot after 3 individuals call and I then go all in. Then I get 2 callers with all-in and now we wait for the 5 remaining cards. I didn't get anything and was out of the tournament.

I was not into this game tonight. I played too loose and was not paying attention. Got to do better. So, I decided to go do something I knew I could handle. I went over to the Blackjack table and started playing. I won back half of the money I spent on Poker so it wasn't a complete loss for the night. This part of the evening was fun. When the table got down to just me and the dealer I decided to call it quits for the night. I was up in chips and I don't do well playing one on one with the dealer. Oh well, better luck next week.

Monday, May 28, 2007

Wednesday night poker and I am ready to go play. I got a call last night and was told that the group I play home games with was having a tournament and so I figured tonight I would not play at Islands and go play the home game.

When people put beer and poker together it just doesn't work for me. I try to serious when I play and when I do play a hand it is usually the best hand, at least I think so, and I want the person that beats me to be playing their best hand as well. To go all-in with nothing just to be doing it doesn't go very well with me. In this tournament it was decided you could rebuy if you go out. Now even if you go out 3rd or 4th and you wanted to rebuy you could. This was going to make for a long evening as well.

I eventually went all in with a KJ and was beat with A6 and the A came on the flop. I did do a rebuy at that time. Played a few more hands and you could tell the beer and the trash talking was getting more and more at the table. I got a AK and decided to go all-in and was called by someone with Pocket 10's. Of course I did loose the hand.

Ok, I decided I had had enough and went home. Not feeling very good about the game I just played. I will have to chalk this one up to just for fun and even though it wasn't a lot of fun I did get to play.

I have been thinking about getting back into blackjack. Island's does have a blackjack tournament on Thursday's and Friday's that runs the same time the Poker tournament runs. At least give it a try and see how I do with this tournament style. I do enjoy Blackjack and the strategy that is played. I do not count cards and figure it would be too much to try to do that. Just watching the cards and playing the best hand with what the dealer shows is good enough for me.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

I was ready for some poker tonight. I was sitting between two aggressive players and I knew that tonight was not going to be easy. I wanted to play aggressive as well and try to get the pot before we went to the turn and the river. I was going to be satisfied playing small ball. Bring in chips slowly and not go crazy by playing a lot of chips at one time. This table was very active tonight.

Right off the bat everyone was getting good cards. The first hand contained 3 pocket pairs and one of them went all in. Two hands later I was dealt Pocket Q's and again two others were dealt pairs as well. I ended up laying down the Q's. One of the players went all in again. It was too early to fight for the pot. I would have lost to pocket Aces if I would have played the hand. The one hand that did take me for a few of my chips was the hand I got pocket 10's. I led out with a raise and was called. The flop came out AQQ. Two pair at this time and I figured he didn't have an Ace. I led out with another raise and was called. Was he trapping me? Did he have the Ace? He wasn't playing that way. The Turn card was a Q. Now I have a Full House. I must have the best hand. I raised again wanting to extract some more chips. He called me and the River was a card that didn't help anyone. When we finished betting on the River we turned the cards over and I had the Full house and he turned over the Q for 4 of a kind. I was stunned to say the least. This meant that I would have to go conservative or push the action and try to get back into the game.

I did win a couple of hands to stay in the tournament and continued to play semi aggressive. I needed chips to keep up with the blinds now. The tournament started with 25 players and I ended up placing 18th. Not a good showing by any means but I did try changing to being aggressive and it just didn't work this time. AB was playing tonight as well. He was unable to play his normal style as well.

It will be interesting to talk with him tomorrow and see what his take was on the table. I did play one hand wrong. I knew I did it when the cards were turned up and finding out the person beat me on the river. I was betting on the flop, turn, and I checked on the river and allowed the person to catch a card on the river to beat me. I have to continue to bet when I know I have the best hand and try to get the player to fold. I didn't do that and I lost the hand.

What did I learn tonight? Maybe aggressive isn't the style that fits me. I am not aggressive in life so maybe conservative is better for me. I can wait till I get to the final table. I just need to be myself and play within myself. Next week I will go back to a conservative style of play. I tend to do better with that. Don't tell anyone. Aggressive out and Conservative in.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Tonight I played poker at Island's Casino and I have never experienced one of these nights. I hope to stay away from these in the future.

We had 25 players tonight. That means we have 5 alternates and tonight we should move a little bit faster than last friday evening. I was sitting in the number 1 seat. In seat number 4 there was a player that was not very friendly to anyone. On the first hand he made a play at the pot and won and the person in seat 3 said to him nice hand. Seat 4 tells him not to give him compliments. Basically not to say anything to him. He does sit there and during the next 30 minutes or so he makes the most bizarre plays. Holding his cards out over the line as people are making plays and standing up talking to the player saying he wanted to go home and call him and then saying he has the best hand and not to call him. Then in the last 30 minutes I was there he didn't say a word and he basically did not play a hand. He just shut down. He was aggressive and then turned conservative. Whatever he was doing he did outlast me.

I was very conservative tonight. I did get A3 and played it for 2 pair and won the pot but other than that it was stuff like 74, 92, 102. Stuff that is hard to even try to bluff or even try to see a flop. The one hand I did not play that would have been a good one to play was 44. There could have been 3 of us in the pot with the players showing 99 and JJ. A 4 came on the turn. I would have had a set. I could have won a good size pot with that. You have to pay to play. The last hand I played was KJ suited. I lost to A6 and two pair. That was my evening. I did get to 12th place out of 25 players. Two out of the final table where anything can happen.

I finished reading Dan Harrington's volume one and will have to read it again. I have now started volume two and this one talks about different styles of play. I have been wanting to sign up for the WPT 2 day class where I would be able to attend a workshop on how to play and then the pro's would watch you and critique your play. The closer I get to that time I am wanting to attend. They are coming to Wildhorse in November or December.

Well, back to the drawing board and will wait till next week to try it again. Golf this Sunday at 6:42. Of course it is Mothers Day.

Sunday, May 06, 2007

I was called at work by D wanting to know if I wanted to go play poker tonight since our wifes were going to be working on the Yard Sale and getting everything priced. I didn't have to be asked twice on that one. Friday evening poker.

We arrived at our usual time around 5 PM and already they were in the second page of names. Island's Casino only has 2 tables available so once they get to 20 then the alternates start. We went and had dinner while waiting for 6 o'clock.

The first 20 got seated and the cards were in the air. At that time we found out that there were 23 alternates waiting to get into the game. Total players 43. That is the most I have ever seen in a tournament. I was hoping I could last through this many and at least see the final table.

I started out seeing some good cards and started building my chip count. D was on my left again. That now makes twice he is sitting on my left and I really don't like that. At one point I played A8 and an A8x came on the river. We both got some chips in the pot and he told me sorry steve I have to do this. I figured I was going to start loosing my chips to him again. He turned over A2 and I ended up taking the pot. I was thinking he had a possible AA a when he showed the A2 I was relieved.

I did get taken out 34th. The table was very tight and even the dealer was making fun of everyone auto folding. Everyone was trying to last as long as they could. D was taken out at 24th place and this now was 8:30PM. That was 2 and a half hours for almost 20 people to go out. The way the Casino does the alternate thing is they will hold the blinds at 100/200 until the last alternate is in the game. Once this takes place they will then play one hand at 100/200 and then go to 200/400. It starts to really take off from that point. Blinds are moving faster and players will need to play or get blinded out.

It was fun. This next week I will probably be playing on Thursday evening since I will be doing something that will take me till 5PM for work and then I will be involved with taking stuff down.

I have been reading Dan Harrington's book and have been paying attention to the chapters on Pre-Flop and now reading about Post-Flop play. How to bet, when to bet and how much to bet. The more I read I hope I can use the information during tournament play.

Sunday is golf day. It has been two weeks since I played last and we will have to see how rusty I am. The group is going to be playing a Best Ball tournament in June. We will be ready.

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

As I said last week I have been trying to read poker books and learning as much about strategy and how to properly play the hands I am getting. When I play tournament poker my first goal is to get to the final table. When you get to that elusive final 10 seats anything can happen. You start to play more hands in position and of course you have to start playing more hands because the blinds are so high at this point. You start looking at the short stacks and either work on taking them out or trying to play heads up with them with the best hand.

I find it very hard to sit through a tournament and then try to write about the hands that I received and how I played them. Sometimes it is better for me to write about the evening and some of my thoughts on how I did. How did I attack the table, so to speak. I didn't mention it last week but when I sat down at the table I was uneasy. I almost felt scared to be there. Was I not learning anything and should I give it up. I was almost afraid to play the hands dealt to me.

This week I went in with a different attitude. I felt better. I wanted to be there. There were about 30 people signed up for this tournament. I did draw the #1 seat at my table. I have never liked sitting next to the dealer. I can't see the players on the other side and I can't tell when to play my hand. I am forced to pay more attention when I am in this seat. Maybe that isn't a bad idea as well. I started winning hands tonight as well. I did raise a few times and I even got the chip leader to sort of lecture me on how I am supposed to play my hands and how I am supposed to raise the pot. A few times tonight he would look at me and tell me he couldn't call me because he couldn't figure out what I had. He didn't want to take the chance.

Well, I did make it to the final table tonight. I even made it with a good share of chips. I had enough I could wait on a few good hands and wait for position. At the final table tonight I came in 5th place. Out of 30 people that made me feel a whole lot better about how I was playing. When I was out of the tournament one of the players looked over at me and told me that I played well tonight and that I am one of the scariest people to play against. They couldn't figure out what I was playing. Again I had the chip leader at the table second guessing himself. He would not play against me even though he was chip leader.

I must say that I am a conservative player but when I do play a hand I will play it through if I get the cards I need on the flop. I did throw away pocket pairs tonight. I even laid down AK when it just didn't look good. I played Pocket Q's and won with them. I was able to get a flush tonight. I laid down hands that would have given me straights if I would have played them. Again, I tried to keep the table guessing at what I might have. What would I play. I have learned I never show my hand unless I have to.

Well, back to the books for the week. How do I play post flop? I do need to improve on that skill. Just like golf when you think you might have it you got to keep practicing. Maybe even start doing a little bit more online play to see more hands. I know it is different but seeing the hands could help a little bit on strategy.

Sunday, April 29, 2007

I just remembered tonight that I haven't blogged the poker night yet. It wasn't a big night for me at the table. Again I playing somewhere in the middle of the pack. Out of 25 or so that start I made it to 14th and just 4 from the final table. That makes me feel a little better but anything can happen once you get to that final table. I stayed and watched my friend D play at the final table and he came in 5th. I sat behind him and was able to watch the cards he was playing.

This was the first time that I was seated next to my friend that plays cards with me on Wednesday evening. I didn't like that he was sitting on my left. In fact he was the one that ended up taking me out. I played the rest of my chips on pocket 7's and he played his pocket Q's. Guess who won that one.

I can't fault my play tonight at all. I played the cards I was supposed to and I did win some hands. I keep thinking that if I am going to play a hand pre-flop I should raise. It is either fold or raise. Do not just limp in. It is hard to do that but I know I need to take more chances.

I read a good book this last weekend. "Annie Duke", that was a good book. I am trying to read a few more books on Poker players and try to understand how they play. The read was worth it and I was really into it all weekend. Usually when I start a book like that I tend to get through it pretty fast. I have watched "Rounders" and "The Stu Unger Story" and thought those Videos were good as well. I see there is a new movie coming out this next week called "Lucky You", and that should be interesting story as well. Guy meets girl, breakup, get back together with poker involved as well.

I am not playing golf this weekend since my friends P and J are off travelling for a Birthday. I hope they have fun.

Friday, April 20, 2007

Here it is Friday and I haven't updated the blog yet. I did play poker on Wednesday evening and actually it wasn't the best night for me. Most of the players are down at Wildhorse Casino playing in the Poker tournament that is going on there. We had 15 players tonight.

My night was over in about 45 minutes. I did try to play some hands and see flops before I would muck my cards. I saw very few face cards throughout the hands I had. I had pocket 4's and tried to see a flop but that didn't last long. The last hand I played I had pocket 9's and someone called me and had 810 and he got a 10 on the flop which took me out of the tournament.

Tonight I was somewhat conservative and one of the players I talked to later even said to me that he was watching me play and noticed how tight I was. I told him I wasn't just tight but when you don't have the cards to play you just don't get anywhere. Bluffing just is not going to do it with these players that can call with such good cards.

My friend AB was playing in the satelite down at Wildhorse and got into the big tournament on Saturday by being in the 130 players. Way to go AB.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Tonight I am headed over to a poker home game. The game started at 6:30 and the cost for tonight was $5. I am used to playing with this group and I am hoping I will do well with the group with my weekly playing at Island Casino. This group plays aggressive style of poker. You had better bring your A game and be prepared for the bluffs they guys will put on you.

I had a very good night playing and ended up in the top 3 and we all decided to chop the pot so the next game could get started. I will usually not play a second game since the time is late and I want to go to bed at a reasonable time.

I did play some very good hands and was able to build my chip count. I played an Kx and the flop, turn and river came up with 4 clubs. I had a K high flush and the A was on the board. I knew I had the nuts and the other player was pushing all in. I went ahead and called and she had the Qc. That was for 4th place and then it was decided to chop the pot.

One other hand I did well in was I had J10 and the other player was pushing in as well. Board came up with J10 on the flop, turn and river and so I had two pair. The other player showed J7 and went all in. I took him down as well.

All in all it was a good night for me and I would like to carry this over to next Wednesday night. I will not be able to play on Tuesday night this next week.

Golf will be this Sunday at Columbia Pointe Golf Course. I didn't get to play this last week and I will try again to keep my score under 100.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

I did make it to Island Casino tonight to play poker. Tonight there were quite a few friends there whom I play home games with. I wanted to play well again tonight and make it further than the 30 to 45 minutes from last night.

Tonight I started out picking my spots a little better to play the hands I was getting. I did get moved off of one hand that I had an AJ and the other player had a K10. He had a pair of 10's and I had a pair of J's. We both had a straight draw and he bet all in and I was unwilling to play for all my chips on a draw. With the flop both of us were close even though we each had a pair. After that hand I waited and played conservative and I started getting hands and I started raising pre-flop. I won 4 hands in a row doing that. After that the cards went dead for me and I went back to conservative.

Tonight there were 25 players. It took a while to get to the alternates but once we started getting them in the game they came in fast. We didn't stay at 100/200 blinds very long and started the climb up the blind ladder. I started playing more hands and seeing flops. I wasn't hitting anything and would go out. By this time I was getting low in chips and knew I would have to make a stand real soon. When I did end up going all in I had AQ to the other player AK. I got beat with a pair of K's.

I went out in 16th place. Middle of the pack. Not good but not bad either. I knew I was playing alright. I was picking my spots and just was not getting the cards.

I found out that tomorrow night there will be a home game going and I will try to play on Thursday as well. That will make 3 nights in a row playing poker. That would be fun. I haven't played in a home game for awhile with friends. I would like to put on a home game at my place soon as well. I have the tables and chips just need to pick a day and put out the word.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Coming into tonight I was confident in playing conservative right off the bat. I wanted to win some hands early to set up the semi aggressive part later in the tournament. The first hand gave me KJ. The hand got beat and I was down $400 right off the bat. I then turned tighter and I did limp in to a number of pots but never came up with a hand to play.

The only hand that I won during the tournament was when I had Q6. I got a 6Q6 on the flop. I now was looking at a way to extract a lot of chips from the people still in the pot. The one player that stayed with me had Q10. The turn came a Q. The turn was another 6. Could you believe it. We both made a full house. Split pot and I had the same amount as when I started. Now I go back to the Conservative play. I was getting blinded off. I am looking for a hand to go all in with and try it again.

The last hand of the evening for me I held a KQ and I went all-in. I was called by a person that had A10. A K came up on the flop. Then the A came on the turn. I was out of the tournament at 14th place tonight. The tournament started with 18 players.

Tonight the table was tight except for one player that seemed to have hands and he was pushing action and winning pots. Right before I went out he lost a lot of his chips to the player next to me.

I am going to try and play tomorrow night as well. Spending 45 minutes playing poker just is not enough time to feel like I am out doing something. AB was still playing when I left. He didn't have a big stack but he was holding his own on the other table.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

After last week and playing more aggressive at the table I was anxious to get back at it and see if I could do the same thing. Right off the bat I started playing KJ and I was beat by a person on the other end of the table and she took quite a bit of my chips. I was down to about $2000 in chips and so I reverted to conservative play to try and build my chips back up. I was able to do that during the course of this table play. There were 31 players in this tournament tonight.

I like Islands Casino here in Kennewick. They do have just 2 tables and it would be nice if they had 3 tables. I am also getting used to the people that are playing here on a regular basis. Back to the tournament. The whole table was playing conservative tonight. Even G was playing conservative and rarely would he come out and play his usual junk hands to show he could take you off of your hand. I was able to pick my spots and brought in quite a few chips to build my stack. I was wanting to get to the final table again and give myself a chance to win this tournament. Our table got down to 6 and the other table was at 5. We did end up getting ours down to the 5 we needed and I had made the final table for the second week in a row.

We had a couple of hands go and came down to 9 players. I gave up my BB and was now in the SB. I had AA and when seat 3 went all in I went in as well. This would have been my best chance of doubling up and knocking out another player. I had the best hand. He showed Q10. A 10 came on the flop and then a 10 came on the river. I ended up with $1000 in chips. That was a big blow to me. Know I am on the button and basically I will wait for the best hand and go all in. The next hand was an AJ and I got 4 callers. One of the callers had pocket 7's and I got a J on the flop. He was able to get the 3rd 7 on the river and I was out of the tournament in 9th place.

I could not believe the two hands and loosing everything in those 2 hands. I wouldn't have played them any differently. I just got beat tonight with those cards. G was sitting next to me and told me that I played well tonight. Coming from him that was a real compliment. R the manager even talked with me tonight and called me by name. They are getting used to me being there and seeing me play.

Tonight was the hardest on me yet. Especially having the hands and getting beat two hands in a row. G told me to take it easy driving home. He knew I was not happy about the turn of events. I usually take the approach that this is just a game and not to let anything get to me when the cards go bad for me. It has happened the other way for me at times.

I ended up playing more conservative than aggressive tonight. I guess it fits me better. I couldn't have been more aggressive tonight or I would have gone home early. People were playing with me when I had the cards so they weren't afraid to play when I put my raise in. I will get this out of my mind and move on. I am excited to play next week though. If I could play two nights per week that would be fun.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

I am going to try and catch up on my week so far. Tonight was the night I was headed to the Island Casino. Tonight was the night that I was going to play a little bit different and play more aggressive and see what happens.

I arrived at Island casino and signed in. Payed my fee and then went and got a dinner for $3.99. You can't beat the dinner price for Steak and Eggs with Toast and Hashbrowns. They have different dinners everynight.

There were about 30 people playing tonight. One of my first hands was the KJ and on the flop came a AKx. I went ahead and raised and the guy next to me raised. On the turn I checked and he raised and I followed. On the turn I raised and he figured I made a hand on the turn with the 10. No, I was playing aggressive and he folded the winning hand of AJ. I was totally surprised and he was not happy. We discussed the hand later on and I told him he had me. He thought I had made a hand with the 10 and he wasn't going to try it. I ended up taking him out to set up the final table later on.

During the evening I played a number of hands with K in the hand and I won them. My final hand at the table before we went to the final table was AA and the guy next to me played AK and he lost with that.

When we got into the final table I became conservative and didn't play the pots I should have. People were going all in trying to build there pots. I just didn't want to get involved with that unless I had a very good hand. I threw away quite a few Aces and Kings during this time. I ended up playing 94 and had to go all in because of low chips. I of course lost the hand and came in 4th place. I did get my money back and so it wasn't a total loss. Two hands later someone went out and got 3rd. If I would have held on a little more I might have gotten into 3rd instead. I felt good about my play tonight. I was aggressive at the start and that was good. I had players around me that were aggressive and they seemed to back off tonight and did not play me hard. I did win with the best hands until the end.

I have to remember what it felt like to play at the final table and how I did it before to get to the money. I was aggressive and I need to get back to that feeling.

Next week I will be back at it again. I will have read more of the Harrington book and hopefully it is helping me.

Always looking forward for the next adventure. Sunday golf at 9:30 with J & P again.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Now that I have had a couple of days to calm down and think about it I can go ahead and blog about my tuesday night poker. I decided to play on Tuesday this time and see if there weren't as many people. That is what happened. There were about 6 alternates waiting to get in the game. Well, I wish I could have lasted as long to see the alternates come into the game.

I was so upset about being taken out. I usually don't let the cards affect me and take every thing in stride. Thats the way the cards go. Except that the last few weeks I have been taken out early and not getting the cards so I can play the way I want to play. I was given KQ and I raised to $300. I was reraised to $500. I called. The flop came out xQx and so having the bottom pair with a K kicker I felt I was in a good position. I went all in to try and pick up the chips now. The guy then calls me and we turn over the cards and he has Q10. Wouldn't you know it that on the river he comes up with another 10. I could spit nails.

I had a friend playing tonight AB and he told me he sucked out on the river a couple more times on other people. He did get to the final table but didn't last long by playing loose. Another person was playing tonight and she was aggressive. She put a bigtime bluff on her friend at the table by telling him not to call her. She had the cards. He threw away pocket 10's and she had J7 to take the pot.

I have decided to read Dan Harrington's books. Maybe I can pick up some thoughts on playing the game from him. He is a tight player and plays good hands. He works with position as well. We will see what I can pick up from him.

I am over it now and will go back next tuesday night. Sunday it is golf again with J & P at 0930. Keep the cards and golf balls flying.

Friday, March 16, 2007

I was at work later than I wanted to be and when I got out of the meeting I headed straight over to Island Casino. Remember last week I ended up being an alternate and was there by 5:30. I wanted to be there by 5:15 tonight and try not to be an alternate. I was able to get there in time and I actually ended up being the 20th person to sign up and just missed the alternate list.

When the game got started the table was tight aggressive and started to loosen up a bit a few hands into the game. I remained very tight and did manage to win a few of the hands. With one of the good hands I had I decided to raise and see if I could get some action. No one wanted to play. They all figured out I was only playing good hands and they didn't want to loose the chips. I decided then that a few hands later I would try again and the same thing happened. That happened to me 3 times total. No one would play when I put in a raise. Not so good when you actually need to get chips to keep going. I did get down to about 1300 in chips and decided to go all in on my last hand and got beat by a set of 7's. There were still alternates waiting to get into the game so I do not know what my placement was. It didn't matter anyway.

Maybe it is time I really started studying the game and figure out when to play the cards that are not the top ones I usually play. It is interesting that their is a group from work that is playing and they will not invite me to play. I was told by one of them on Thursday that the reason is they want to be able to keep their money and not loose it. That just makes me laugh. Keeping me out of a game because they are afraid of loosing their money? Doesn't make sense to me. Maybe I should set up a game here at my house and see if I could get them to play here.

Looking forward to my Sunday golf with J & P. I do enjoy playing with them. It is a nice 4 hours away from the usual stress of what goes on in my life at home and work. That is why I also like Poker because it gives me a chance to concentrate on the cards and the people around me and think of the other things. I have been looking for a place to play more Blackjack. The casinos are playing the special games of blackjack and that doesn't interest me since I do not play the extra chips to get the other payoffs.

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Tonight was one of those nights I should have stayed home. I got to Island Casino at 5:30 and I walked in and found out I was the 2nd alternate. This is the first time that I was an alternate for a poker game. To sit and watch the hands being played and you are not being able to play a hand and knowing when you do get to sit down you will be down chips and haven't done anything yet. When I did get to sit down at the table the first hand I drew was an AQ. I needed to play catch up with the chip stacks. I got a Q on the river and sucked out on the other guy. Ok, that was a good start.

Then I played AQ again and lost to a pair of J's. I lost a big share of my chips on this hand and basically I was now waiting for a good hand to go all-in with. On the last hand I played AJ and lost to a pair of K's. You see I was getting the cards but wasn't getting the flop.

Could I have won if I had bet more money at the pot? Sometimes I will do that and the two players I played against did question me on it. I really believe they would have raised or reraised me anyway so why not just see a flop and try to slow play the hands and get a little more of the chips. As you can see that didn't work.

My placement for this tournament didn't matter since I really didn't get through the alternates that were still sitting and waiting for a chair.

I have been doing some reading on Blackjack strategy. I really enjoy Blackjack and would like to start playing it again. I know the only time I do play is when I go to Auburn and play at the Muckleshoot Casino. I was looking around the Island Casino this evening to see if they had a regular Blackjack table and I could not find one. Maybe this will mean spending some time driving down to Pendleton to play and Wildhorse Casino. That would be a 2 hour roundtrip and that is doable for some time to play blackjack for a few hours.

Golf this weekend. I didn't get to play this last week and I am looking forward to it.

Saturday, March 03, 2007

Made it over to Auburn and had dinner with C's sister and brother-n-law. I love to eat at the Famous Daves Restaurant on South Hill. Good food and great service. They even gave me a ice cream sundae for my birthday which was yesterday. Another year older and still don't feel like it. I like to play and have fun when I can.

I got to the Muckleshoot Casino and immediately went over to the blackjack tables to find a place to sit down and play. It took a while for someone to go out and open up a seat. I sat in seat 6 and started playing. Immediately I started to win and my chip stack started to build. I pulled aside my startup money and started playing with the house money. I played basic strategy and was doing well. About 2 hours into playing and the lady next to me looked over at me and told me that I haven't said a word since she got there. Now, when I play cards I get very serious and concentrate on what the cards are that are out there and what my strategy is going to be. I don't talk to people that much other than to tell them congrats on a good hand. Well, the table was singing everytime the dealer busted and they were singing the song "Thats the way we like it" and the lady turned to look at me and said I needed to sing with them. I told her the next time I would. Well, I missed the next time and she looked at me and said I had to sing by myself. Ok, I did. I sang a solo for the table. I am still a very quiet person. I did it for the table. When the shoe was done I decided to go ahead and color up my chips and call it a night. It was a good night. I started with $100 and ended up with $165. I am happy with that.

Tomorrow we head back over the mountain and I will play poker on Tuesday or Wednesday night at Islands Casino. Since I am traveling this weekend I will not be playing golf. Having a good time.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

I went into the Island Casino tonight feeling good since my win last week. I was hoping I could have a good showing tonight and possibly get to the final table again. The table I was at tonight was very aggressive. It seemed that someone was constantly raising the pot and with the mediocre hands I was receiving it just didn't make sense to try and win on a draw. Hand after hand were thrown back to the dealer. I did win a couple of hands that would keep me in the tournament. With only two tables there were over 30 players and 20 were playing at a time. I did hear at one time 13 alternates. It might have been more. I will find out tomorrow when I get a chance to talk with my friend that was playing tonight and was also an alternate himself.

I believe I went out around 22nd. We were stuck on 100/200 blinds until the last alternate gets put into the game. At least that person has a chance and will have to play very aggressive just to make the final table. Having to post big and small blinds and post it just takes a big share of your chips. Once some of the aggressors were eliminated the action started to get to be normal poker. I just wished I could have stuck around to play in that level.

The hand that I went out on was the same hand I won with last week. I had AK and went all in and was called by a person that had pocket 7's. He won with a set on the turn. The roles were reversed this week.

This weekend I am headed over to Auburn and I hope to be able to play some Blackjack at the Muckleshoot Casino.

Sunday, February 25, 2007

I arrived at Columbia Pointe Golf Course this morning to play 18 holes of golf with friends. Since I didn't warm up by hitting golf balls I didn't want to use the Driver right off the bat. I used my 3 wood and was able to get it in the middle of the fairway. That was a good start. The par 3's today were good to me. I was able to par 3 of the 4 holes today. I was able to use the driver and did well with it today. I am getting used to the setup and the height of the tee and where to put the golf ball. Thank goodness for the golf carts we have and the ability to put our umbrellas up and walk under them. It started raining on us for about 3 or 4 holes and then it started to turn real nice. I was able to take my jacket off and enjoy the rest of the day.

My score today was 98 strokes and I putted 39 times. This was not my best day with putting but the fairway irons were on today. My goal is always to get to the 150 yard marker and I can pretty much get on from there. It was an enjoyable day walking the course.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

I was talking to a friend today about poker and he mentioned to me that the Joker's Casino had closed down. I didn't get a chance to read the paper before I came into work this morning so I missed the write up on the closing of the Casino. Evidently the owner wants to open a Sports Bar with the Bowling Alley and not have card games any longer. I did enjoy playing at the Joker's Casino and now will have to find a new place to play.

There is a Casino in Kennewick called the The Island Casino. I have heard good things about the tournaments they put on. It just so happened my friend was going to play there tonight. The more I thought about it I decided to play tonight instead of Wednesday night. They do run things a little differently in this Casino. You have to have a players card to play. The first thing I did was give my drivers license to them and they then gave me my players card. What a lousey picture of me on the card. The Casino is in one big room. The Card game area, the bar, the pool area and the dart area. It is nice though.

In the Poker area they only have 2 tables. I hope they add a table soon with Joker's going out they may get more players. I recognized 3 players tonight. I drew the #10 spot next to the dealer. I started playing my usual tight play and got down to 1300 in chips and started getting some good hands. I got pocket A's twice. I was able to extract the most out of each of the hands. Every time I played I had the best hand and kept building my chip count. Finally reaching the final table and I still was getting good hands. Overall I didn't really have any hands that were better than any other. I was able to bust the number 4 and number 3 player and then I was playing for 1st or 2nd place. We decided to chop the pot and I went home with my share of 1st and 2nd place. It feels good to finally win again. This is my second win playing poker and my 3rd cashing in a Casino. When they pay you your winnings they use chips. You then go to the cashier and they in turn will call the pit boss and he ok's the payout. That is different. I think they pay you in chips so on your way to the cashier maybe you will stop and play the other table games. Not a bad idea. This was the most that I have earned in a poker tournament as well.

It was nice to be able to take my mind off the last few weeks and do something I enjoy. In the next few weeks I will have stuff going on here at my home that will be taking alot of my time. Thats alright. I will still take time for my poker night.

Monday, February 12, 2007

This is another sport I love to play. I started playing golf in College back in 1975. I actually wanted to take kayaking for a PE class and they were full. My fiance at that time told me that I should try golf. Now, golf is for the older guys not the young ones like myself who played Fastpitch softball and could beat out an infield hit. Well, I needed a PE and so I decided to go ahead and sign up. It didn't take long for me to get addicted to the game. Could you conquer the game and learn everything you needed to know and become a scratch golfer? I soon learned that it was a game that would take years and you will always learn something every time you go out to play. Now, doesn't this sound like another game I love to play? I don't have to tell you what it is.

This year I purchased a card that would deduct 50% off of the price everytime I played. When the price of golf is $40 for a round of golf that is a good deal. For years I have always played by myself and I started playing less and less golf. A friend and her husband now play almost on a weekly basis and they don't mind having someone tag along and play. It is fun to play with other people and just walk the course. Today was the first game of the year and it was nice out, not too cold and at least the wind wasn't blowing. The first hole I was reintroduced to the sand trap and I had a little trouble getting out. I usually do well with the sand traps since the early days of always hitting the traps and having to learn to get out of them. Hole number 3 and I was in it again. Hole number 4 I was in the trap and it took me 6 swings to get out. I think I got to know every sand bunker on that course today.

My putting is the part of my game that I do well in. I seem to be able to read the greens and putt well. In my early years I practiced putting a lot and I think that has always helped me. I purchased a new driver this past year before the end of the season and now I am learning to use the club. I started to drive well the last few holes when I finally realized I was setting the ball up too far back in my stance. Once I moved the ball forward the slice started to go away. I was able to pronate the wrists coming through the ball. If I could ever learn how to transfer the weight forward I could get more distance. See how this game makes you want to play more and learn. Sounds like another game I like to play. Ok, for the first round of the year and all the sand play I shot a 110. I played 36 strokes putting for an average of 2 strokes once I was on the green. If I could get rid of some of the strokes out on the fairway getting to that elusive 150 yard marker I would do great.

It doesn't look like I will be able to play poker this wednesday night. There are business people in town and they want to take some of us to dinner. Maybe I will play another night. Maybe even play in the afternoon game if I get off work early. We will have to wait and see.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

When I got to work this morning I went straight to the Time Kiosk we have in the lobby of the hospital to see where my hours were at. I had 40 hours as of Thursday night and since my boss does not like overtime I decided to work a short day and save some hours. Well, the short day turned out being 5 hours and I finally got out of the office at 1PM. When I got home I went through my email and was reading some blogs I usually read on a daily basis and then decided to go to Jokers Casino for the 3PM Poker tournament.

When I arrived at the Casino I went in and signed up and paid the buyin which was $15 + 5 for the afternoon tournament. I was surprised at how many people showed up for the afternoon tournament. We had 25 people which meant we had 5 alternates.

I tried to play as many hands as possible especially if I could get in for the price of the big blind. I was able to win a few hands and that kept me in the game. I was able to bust 2 people out of the tournament and so I knew I was getting good hands. I was hoping they would just keep going. I hadn't seen a final table in awhile. We finally arrived at 10 players left and we all moved over to the final table. By this time my stack was dwindling and I knew that with the blinds at 500/1000 it wouldn't take long for me to be blinded out if I didn't get playing some hands. I finally got a pocket pair 44. Now normally I would not play this hand, unless I could get in cheap and see a flop. I did not have much left. I decided to go all in. I, of course, got called and my 4's got beat. I figured they would but I had to give it a chance. I came in 8th for this tournament.

Friday, February 09, 2007

I know I am late with this. It has been crazy around here. I did get my poker time in on Wednesday evening. We had 29 players in this tournament at the Jokers Casino this evening. Again this is like a broken record but, I wish the cards would start getting better for me. I need to get better cards or at least learn how to bluff more. I don't like to bluff because I like to play with the best hands.

Tonight I kept waiting for the right hand and it never showed up. I ended up 18 out of 29 players. I did split a pot with one hand, I played A3 and the other player had A10. The flop came AAK and then I went all in and he called. The turn was X and the River was another K. We both played the Full House. He was not happy I played the A3 but you know what? It worked and kept me in the game. I ended up on my last hand with AA and went all in and was called by the big blind for my remaining 700 in chips. She had 95. Well, I got busted when she got a 9 on the River for 2 pair.

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

I am in Auburn for a family emergency and so I will not be playing poker tonight. This week may not see any card games at all. I am not even thinking about going up to the Muckleshoot Casino to play Blackjack while I am here in Auburn. I am spending time at the hospital and with family that have flown in.

This last weekend I have been playing blackjack at home practicing the strategy to see how I play and how the different strategies I use stack up against each other. Since I always try to play on a table with more than 2 or 3 people I will set cards out for that many. I bought enough cards to have the proper amount of decks available for the table I am playing. See if this helps my blackjack playing.

I see that WPT Poker Boot Camp is coming to the Wildhorse Casino in November. I would like to attend this camp. Waiting till November is sort of a wait though. It is nice that it is coming up to this area.

Saturday, January 27, 2007

I forgot to post the game on Wednesday night. I got busy the Thursday and Friday and remembered last night that I hadn't posted anything to the blog.

The night was uneventful for me. I played the 6PM Poker Tournament at Jokers Casino and we had 20 people show up. Tonight I really didn't get any hands to play. I think I must have played about 3 hands and ended up in 12th place. I don't like being blinded out and that is exactly where I was headed for the evening. I didn't have any hands that really stuck with me that I could even talk about.

I keep watching players and how they are playing. I need to start playing some hands if I have position and if I can limp in and see a flop. I know that is where the training would come in if I could try and get to one of the Poker schools. Another thing that I thought interesting as I was watching a Tournament on TV was the amount of people that were dealers and now they are poker professionals and or play a lot. The announcers were talking about the ability to watch the hands as well as watch how people played the game. Wouldn't that be a fun job to be a poker dealer. Basically don't give up your day job until you could make it in that profession.

We have joined a fitness facility in town and so I need to start exercising more to loose some weight. I lost 22 pounds last year and this year my goal is another 25. I want to get to a total of 75 pounds lost, so it will go into 2008 for me to reach my goal. I would like to pick up another night of poker and the weather is starting to look better and I know golf is right around the corner. Hopefully this will be a good year all around. Of course I can't forget about the job.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

We drove over to the West side of the state on Saturday morning and the roads were not that bad. Hardly any traffic.

Then saturday evening I took off for the Muckleshoot Casino. Wow, there were so many people I could not find a parking spot anywhere. I ended up going into the parking garage and found a spot up near the top. Walking into the casino you walked into a flood of people. I went from one end of the casino looking for a table so I could sit down and play some blackjack. After my third trip to the older side I found a seat and I put myself in seat number 6. The lady in seat 7 was a little inebriated. She started talking to me right away about how the person that just left did not know how to play and she hoped I would do better. She stated she knows how to play and when to hit and when to let the dealer try to bust. Ok, I have read the books as well. I started playing and won the first three hands and I was using the new strategy of every time I win I would put another chip in and if I lost the hand I would start over with one chip. Right off the bat I was up and for most of the night I was using there money to play with. Oh yes, the guy that left and I took his seat, he came back and now was sitting in seat 5. The Lady on my left leaned over to me and informed me in a low voice that, remember the guy I was telling you about, well he is sitting next to you now so keep an eye on him. Eventually she busted out and she decided the dealer was against her and she left. Not before talking to the pit boss about playing some poker in the poker room. That was an interesting conversation as well. Basically she could play but the poker players would enjoy her presence since it would be money in the bank for them.

After that took place a new person came and sat in seat 5 and he started playing. With his date behind him asking him why he was doing what he was doing. Even to the point of looking at my cards and telling me what I should do. She bumped up against my chair a couple of times and said sorry, I am a little bit challenged to stand straight right now. I could believe that. You could tell she was a little bit inebriated as well. She ended up sitting next to me in seat 7 with her date in seat 5 and she started talking to me, telling me that she was just dating the guy next to me. That she was not married to him. She started talking to me about the cards I would play and why. I finally after 3 hours was ahead in my chips from when I started and decided to just go home. I really like to play blackjack here. I did watch 4 card poker table, but it is hard to get a seat since there are two tables and they are always full. People standing behind them waiting to get a seat. It would be nice to have a few more tables open. Even all the blackjack tables were full with people watching and waiting for seats. It was fun.

This wednesday evening I am back at the Jokers Casino playing poker. I might try the 3 card poker that evening.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

I was anxious to get out and go to Jokers Casino this evening so I could play some poker. The weather here is cold, cold, cold. I got myself into the casino this evening, signed up and paid my buyin of $30. There were 24 people playing tonight. We started out with 2 tables of 10 apiece and 4 alternates. I try to get there early enough that I am not an alternate. I think it is harder to get started when you are behind when you get seated. If I am going to loose my blinds I would rather loose them myself than to get blinded because I am not playing cards.

Tonight was one of those nights when I was getting some really good cards. I must have had 3 AK's and won 2 of them and lost 1. I went all-in 3 times and won two of them and lost the last one. Of course the last one I had one $500 dollar chip and went all in with nothing other than the 72 offsuit. Can't do much with that one. The hand I played prior to that one was the one that did me in though. I had AJ and lost to A5 when the player got a 5 on the river. I was feeling good and I was not playing a bunch of hands that were junk. I opened my play a little bit tonight trying to play some new hands so I didn't seem like a very tight player. I just played hands that made since to me. I ended up placing 11 out of 24. Middle of the pack again. Missed the final table by 1 person.

This weekend I am planning to make a trip back to Auburn and I will try to play some blackjack at the Muckleshoot Casino. Hopefully I will do well. I have been wanting to try a new strategy out and see how I do. I am trying to practice here at home before I do it there.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Tonight was the home game. It was a $5 buyin and 15 players started. One thing about playing home games is that people will call down to the river just to try and make a hand. It is hard to figure out what to do when you know most of the group will play on even if you raise. It is even getting more noticeable for me I need to get some type of instruction on how to play the mid hands like K6 or the Q5 and hands like that. Bluffing doesn't seem to work very well. By the end of the evening I ended up in 8th position. Middle of the field and I seem to stay in that position most often.

Jokers Casino is starting a tournament now at 9PM. You can play at 12, 3PM, 6PM and now 9PM. Wouldn't that be nice to be able to play in a few more tournaments during the week. I enjoy watching some of the better players at Jokers.

Next weekend we are planning a trip over to Auburn again and maybe a chance to play some Blackjack at Muckleshoot Casino. We will have to wait and see if everything works out for the trip.

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Since I am playing in a home game on Wednesday night I figured to keep up with the weekly game at Jokers Casino I would need to play tonight. I ended up playing with a new group of players tonight. I only new 2 faces out of the bunch. There were 14 players. That is a far cry from the 30+ I am used to playing with on Wednesday night.

I started out playing my usual. I won the second hand with a pair of Q's. No one wanted to go to the turn or the river with me. I must not have played a hand for about 30 minutes because the next time I played one of the players looked at me and said that I haven't played at all and now I raise on the flop and no one wants to go in on the pot. From that point on I played the flops and within 3 hands I was out of the tournament. The cards I was dealt were KJ, A2, and a Q10. I had good hands just didn't get the flops to really continue. Of course I didn't through the hands away like I normally would and then the players started calling my hands.

I have been continuing to read Phil Gordons little green book again on his thoughts on poker. Tomorrow night will be a home game and will hope to do better. I need to start playing more flops to see if I can get the cards to continue.

This is hard to do because when I play any card game I don't play to loose. I play to win and as I am teased at work to earn money. I carefully manage my money when I play at the casino. I do that whether I play Poker or Blackjack. I also do not play with money that will be missed if I loose. I never play with house money.

My wife and I have a mine, hers, and ours account to pay bills. When it comes to money in our separate accounts we don't have to explain where it goes to each other. I call it my allowance and it works for us. When it is gone then we have to wait till then next paycheck and get allowance again. Hence, my one night per week in playing poker at the casino. The home games don't happen often and the buyin is like $5 so it doesn't matter that much. Good practice for me though.

Friday, January 05, 2007

I have been sick all week but I did get to play poker Wednesday night at Jokers Casino. It was the shortest tournament I played in for a while. There was close to 30 players and I went out about 21st. That is a far cry from the last 3 weeks. It was one of those tournaments that I could play nothing in my hand. Even after folding I would watch the cards come out and still would not have had anything to play all night. This of course is not whining. Just the fact that some nights are like this and I accept the fact it happens.

I have been reading Phil Gordons little green book and I like what he talks about. The mindset and how he plays the game. I am getting ready to read the Little Blue Book next. Right now my game is tight. I should probably be reading Dan Harrington's books.